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Notes Home Classroom Management Incentives
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The connection between home and school can have a great impact on students' success. Establishing a positive relationship with parents and encouraging them to take an active role in their child's education is not always an easy task, but there are lots of ways to reach out and invite parents to communicate their thoughts, ideas and concerns.

Get to know your students' parents a little better with a survey. A quick questionnaire could include questions about what parents do for a living, if they are a single parent, how many children are in the family and if they have time to devote to volunteering in the classroom or on field trips. Responses from parents can help you gain a basic understanding of what life is like at home for each of your students.

Look for ways to invite parents to get involved. When sending notes home, open the lines of communication by providing parents space to write a response to your comments and ask any questions they may have. In order to save some time, develop a "note home" form that you can make copies of and easily fill out. This form could include a space for your comments, a place for parents to respond and check boxes for requesting a parent-teach conference or further communication.

Additional communications home could include a monthly newsletter. This can include information about what will be going on in your classroom over the next month, details about field trips and reminders. Other things you may want to include are tips on nutrition, homework tips. Try to keep this newsletter to a single page. One page of information is more likely to be read by parents when it arrives home than multiple pages.

If you have a classroom website, consider creating a parent information section where you can post any important things parents need to know. Electronic access to valuable information allows parents to keep up to date as quickly as checking their email. Depending on how much time you have to devote to moderation, other things you may want to include in this section of your website could be a discussion board, a classroom calendar of events or blog. A discussion board can also be a useful place for parents to engage with one another as well.

Report card comments are one of the most important forms of home-school communication. A carefully crafted comment can be a powerful indicator of how a student is preforming in the classroom. Report card comments also give you an opportunity to explain what can be done at home to help students become more successful. Positive and personal comments are sure to inspire discussion between parents and their children and let children know that parents place value on education as well as teachers.

Finding ways to keep the home-school connection strong is a task that lasts the entire school year. Remember to keep looking for easy ways to keep the lines of communication open as you progress through the year.

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